Fear (And Love) Never Knocks
by Myra109
Summary: Jack and Jenny are a couple, and when Fear arrives, important questions are brought to the surface. Does love truly overpower fear? Or is it just a myth? AU, incest, brief sexual references, episode: Fear Never Knocks


_Hello, everyone!_

 _is is a prompt given to me by SpenderandHanna. Hope you like it!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: INCEST. DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ_**

* * *

"You told me on the phone that you were deathly afraid of spiders," Jenny's grandfather said.

Jenny, a young, brown haired girl, was leaning against the door to her grandfather's office, one side of a cup pressed against the door with her ear against the other side.

"Yes," a woman- her grandfather's client- confirmed, her voice shaking.

Her brother whirled around the corner with his fake gun; loud whirls and sirens sounded as lights flashed across the toy.

The woman continued to talk, but now, it was much harder to hear her.

Her brother sighed. "You're not supposed to be down here when grandpa has a patient."

She turned to face him. "Shh. I'll make some cookies for you later if you stay quiet."

He smiled. "Do I get a kiss, too?"

Jenny grinned. "Stay quiet until he's done. Then, of course."

Jenny and Jack may have been brother and sister, but they'd been dating for the past three months. Even before then, they were usually close. They were the only ones that knew about their relationship; they were keeping it on the down low until they could find a way to tell their grandpa.

To tell you the truth, they were scared to do so. They didn't know any siblings that dated (aside from them), but in the movies, no one liked it when relatives fell in love with each other. Incest was wrong in the eyes of so many people; Jack and Jenny didn't know if their grandfather was any different.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, coming closer.

"She's scared of spiders," Jenny whispered.

Jack frowned. "That isn't crazy."

Meanwhile, inside the room, a middle aged woman faced an elderly man, pursing her lips as she described her apprehension when it came to the arachnids (otherwise known as spiders).

"Penelope, you came to see me because this is what I do. I help people with their fears," he said.

The man leaned over a small machine on the table beside him and switched the dial to On. Lights flickered on and a disk began to whir inside.

"Tell me about your fear of spiders," he instructed.

Penelope frowned. "is that a tape recorder?"

He laughed. "Oh, yes."

"Kind of strange looking," she chuckled.

"yes, it is… unusual. Tell me about the fear."

"Well, I believe it started when I was a little girl. My brothers used to-"

"Not how the fear started," the man interrupted. "Just tell me about the image in your mind when you're terrified of spiders."

"Well, their eight legs and their shadows cast on the wall-"

The man interrupted once more. "I'm sorry. Excuse me for a moment."

She nodded and watched as the old man hobbled towards the door, his joints cracking and his footsteps heavy on the floorboards.

Jenny's eyes widened. "Shoot," she muttered. "Go!"

Her brother obeyed and ran for the stairs, Jenny following him and covering him; she hid him from view, so that her grandfather wouldn't see him.

Jenny stumbled up the stairs and had barely made it to the last step when her grandfather opened the office door.

He gave a breathy laugh as he watched his granddaughter stumble over the last step and disappear down the hall.

Then, he shut the door.

* * *

"Dinner!" grandpa called, and Jenny and Jack appeared in the kitchen doorway, sliding into their chairs at the counter.

"Be afraid," he laughed. "Macaroni and cheese again."

"You're afraid of Mac and cheese?" Jack asked.

Jenny laughed. "He doesn't mean it that way."

"I know," Jack responded. "Grandpa isn't afraid of anything."

Grandpa scoffed. "I wouldn't say that."

"But you help people get over their fears, right?" Jack asked.

"That's right," he said, "but not for long."

He handed them their bowls and watched the siblings-who got along eerily well for brother and sister- clink their spoons together and dig in.

"Tonight is my retirement dinner!" he announced.

He turned around and grabbed something off of the counter.

"Your grandpa is getting honored tonight for a life time achievement in the field of psychiatry," he said, smiling proudly, as he displayed a card with elegant, silver script.

 _Your presence is requested tonight to honor_

 _Dr. George Hansen's_

 _Lifetime of achievement in the field of Psychiatry_

"Cool," Jack said.

"What are you afraid of, Grandpa?" Jenny questioned.

"I'm afraid that when your parents get back from their trip, they're going to be mad at me for not feeding you better," he laughed.

"No. Really. What are you afraid of?" Jenny pressed.

"As Jack said, nothing," Grandpa rushed to say.

He said it a little too fast to be believable.

Jack smiled in pride as he realized he was right.

"How do you get your patients to get over their fears?" Jenny said.

"I get them to face them," Grandpa said, handing Jack a bottle of ketchup. "We need to face our fears in order to conquer them."

"But that's not what you do!" Jenny exclaimed. "You just tell your patients to say what they're afraid of into a tape recorder. How is that facing them?"

"Somebody's been ease dropping," Grandpa said, eyebrows raised.

"I'm just trying to learn!" Jenny replied. "I want to be a psychiatrist when I grow up."

"Jenny, I've told you. My sessions with my patients are private," Grandpa stressed.

"You're not answering my question!"

Jenny was angry. After all, she wanted answers; was that too much to ask for? She hated being left in the dark. Didn't everyone?

"Maybe you shouldn't be a psychiatrist. Maybe you should be a district attorney," Grandpa suggested.

"What is everyone talking about?" Jack asked.

Jenny's eyes softened. "Grandpa isn't answering my questions about his sessions and what he does in them."

"And that's because I can't. I'll tell you when you're older."

Jack paused. "We're older!" he pointed out after a beat of silence.

Jenny looked at her brother in thanks for sticking up for her.

Grandpa sighed. "A few years older."

"You tried, Jack," Jenny whispered. "Thanks."

"Now, I have to go get ready," Grandpa said. "Eat your dinner."

He left the room, and Jack pursed his lips.

"What's wrong?" Jenny asked as she finished the last of her Mac and Cheese.

"I'm sick of Mac and Cheese," he muttered.

She laughed. "Give me it, you big baby," she teased, taking his bowl. "I'll make us some real food with real sugar and everything after he leaves."

"Thanks, Jen!" he exclaimed.

And even though Jenny's already stuffed, she eats her brother's dinner on top of her own.

* * *

As soon as Grandpa's car drives away, Jenny makes pancakes and cookies and gets out a liter of soda from the fridge. (Let's be realistic. Every kid does this when there are no adults in the house… they raid their kitchen for sweets)

"This is awesome!" Jack exclaimed, shoving a fork full of syrup drowned pancake into his mouth. "Thanks, Jen."

"'Welcome, Jackie," she responded, eating a cookie and taking a sip of their root beer.

They were both eating off of the same plate and drinking out of the same glass. The only way it could be more romantic was if they were eating spaghetti.

Jen grabbed her fork and stabbed a piece of pancake, watching Jack do the same. Then, they fed the bite to each other, like couples do in the movies.

"This is amazing," Jen smiled.

"When are we going to tell Grandpa?" Jack asked.

"I'm hoping tomorrow. Tonight, I have plans."

"You're going to break into his office, aren't you?" Jack said.

"How'd you know?"

"Telepathy," he responded, tapping his head.

Jenny laughed. "You know me better than I know myself."

"Same with you, my dear sister and my dear girlfriend," Jack said before feeding her a bite of his cookie.

And for a moment, everything was perfect.

* * *

Jenny picked the lock on Grandpa's office and watched as the door creaked open.

She stepped into the doorway and froze.

Frigid air rolled over her like a bad omen. Her shirt ruffled around her, and her feet refused to move as unexplainable apprehension seized her.

Finally, she shook her head and stepped the rest of the way into the office.

Jack went to follow her, but he, too, stopped in his tracks and shivered; his eyes were wide in fear, as though a mass murderer was about to kill him.

Jenny smiled, comfortingly. "Come on, Jack. You look like you just saw Michael Myers. Nothing bad is going to happen, and even if it does, I'll protect you."

Jack gulped before stepping into the office.

"Now, I'll be the psychiatrist, and you can be the patient," she said. "You sit there."

Jack nodded and seated himself in the chair across from her.

"Now… tell me your fears," Jenny said in a slightly creepy voice.

She went to turn on the machine beside her, opening the lid and gazing at it in bewilderment.

"That thing records?" Jack asked in disbelief. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Me neither," Jenny agreed.

She pressed a few buttons, but after getting nothing, she saw the dial and twisted it.

She accidentally hit rewind, and seeing her mistake, she pressed play.

 _"And I can't get any sleep because I keep thinking a spider's going to crawl into my ear."_

Grandpa's last patient.

"Ew," Jack muttered.

" _Penelope, you are going to leave that fear when you leave. You're going to leave it here," Grandpa replied._

Jenny suddenly slammed her hand on the stop button.

"Jack, don't move! No, forget that, move!"

Jack turned his head and saw a huge spider skittling its way up the chair directly beside his head.

Jack leaped from the chair and landed on Jenny's lap as the spider tumbled to the floor.

"Where'd it go?" Jenny asked.

"I must've knocked it off the chair," Jack whispered, making no move to get off of Jenny's lap.

"That was so weird," Jenny murmured. "that lady was talking about spiders, and then, I saw one. Definitely a bizarre coincidence."

"Totally bizarre," Jack agreed.

"Anyway, you can just sit here," Jenny said.

"Read my mind," Jack laughed.

Jenny leaned over and switched the dial back to on.

"Now, tell me your worst fear," she told her brother.

"My worst fear? My worst fear is this… this killer dog."

Jenny frowned. "When did you see a killer dog?" she asked, gently.

"I don't know. I think I was six, and I saw this old movie on TV. There was this huge dog, and it could rip your throat out."

Jack shakily raised a hand to his throat as a vivid image of the dog- huge and black with trails of slobber dripping from its mouth, which was filled the razor sharp teeth, the beady eyes- flashed before his eyes. He could almost hear the ear shattering bark.

Jenny rubbed a hand up and down her brother's back. "it's okay, Jack. I'm here."

Jack nodded. The fear was still present, but his girlfriend's hand on his back made him feel much better.

"Sometimes when I see a shadow at night, I'm positive it's the dog."

Jenny was frightened of this look in Jack's eyes. This crazy fear that made his body tense, and sweat dampened his hairline. She could almost smell waves of terror rolling off of him; the fear was contagious, and she, too, found herself, paralyzed with fright.

"This killer dog," he whispered, trailing off.

"You will leave that fear in this office today," she assured him. "When you leave, the fear will be gone."

"Really?"

"That's what Grandpa always says, but I don't see how it works."

"Me neither," Jack agreed. "My turn to be Grandpa."

Jenny smiled. "Go for it."

"Tell me your worst fear," he said, his voice intentionally lowered.

"It's this nightmare I have some time. I dream… there's someone in my closet. A crazy lady, like a maniac."

Jack leaned closer to his sister in curiosity.

"What does she look like?" he asked.

"I can never see her face, but I can hear her knocking, and I know she has long, red fingernails, and I know she's going to scratch out my eyes."

Jenny's eyes widened in fear as the vivid image of Her appeared behind her eyes. Her long, crimson nails reaching towards her, her high pitched, mocking laugh.

Jack felt the fear radiating off of Jenny, and he hugged her, tightly, to show that he was here; she was safe.

"I know she's in the closet, but I go to the closet anyway."

"Why?" Jack demanded.

"I don't know. It's part of the nightmare, but when I open the door, at first, I don't see her. But then, I move some clothes over, and she's there. She chases me, and somehow I know whatever I do to get help won't work. Then, I wake up. When I do, I'm scared that I'll see her in real life, and then, I won't be able to wake up."

Jenny shivered, and Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"It's okay, Jen. She's not real, and neither is the dog, and that creepy spider was just a coincidence," he assured her, although he didn't sound convinced.

Honestly, he wasn't sure who he was trying to convince: his girlfriend or himself?

"I don't want to do this anymore," Jack whispered, his voice raspy and his throat oddly dry.

"Let's hear what our voices sound like," Jen suggested, hitting the rewind button.

 _""Now, tell me your worst fear," Jenny's voice said._

 _"My worst fear? My worst fear is this… this killer dog," Jack's voice stammered._

 _"When did you see a killer dog?" Jenny asked, gently._

"I don't want to do this anymore!" Jack suddenly shouted, clapping his hands over his ears.

Jenny jumped. "Jack, it's okay. Calm down."

"No, turn it off!"

Jenny suddenly kissed her brother, and he relaxed, slightly.

 _"I don't know. I think I was six, and I saw this old movie on TV. There was this huge dog, and it could rip your throat out."_

 _"it's okay, Jack. I'm here."_

 _"Sometimes when I see a shadow at night, I'm positive it's the dog."_

They were so involved in the kiss, they tuned the voices out and completely forgot about the recording.

 _"The killer dog," Jack whispered, trailing off._

 _"You will leave that fear in this office today. When you leave, the fear will be gone."_

 _"Really?"_

 _"That's what Grandpa always says, but I don't see how it works."_

 _"Me neither," Jack agreed. "My turn to be Grandpa."_

 _Jenny smiled. "Go for it."_

 _"Tell me your worst fear," he said, his voice intentionally lowered._

 _"It's this nightmare I have some time. I dream… there's someone in my closet. A crazy lady, like a maniac."_

 _"What does she look like?" he asked._

 _"I can never see her face, but I can hear her knocking, and I know she has long, red fingernails, and I know she's going to scratch out my eyes._ _I know she's in the closet, but I go to the closet anyway."_

 _"Why?" Jack demanded._

 _"I don't know. It's part of the nightmare, but when I open the door, at first, I don't see her. But then, I move some clothes over, and she's there. She chases me, and somehow I know whatever I do to get help won't work. Then, I wake up. When I do, I'm scared that I'll see her in real life, and then, I won't be able to wake up."_

 _"it's okay, Jen. She's not real, and neither is the dog, and that creepy spider was just a coincidence," he assured her, although he didn't sound convinced._

The two finally parted, and Jenny smiled as she reached over her brother to switch the dial to off.

"I don't want to be in here anymore," Jack whispered, rubbing his arms, which were speckled with goosebumps.

"Neither do I," Jenny agreed, shutting the recorder.

* * *

The brother and sister strolled into the kitchen, and Jenny began gathering the dishes and placing them in the sink.

"I feel better in here," Jack said.

"I know what you mean," the elder sibling agreed.

"I wish there wasn't such thing as fear," Jack told her.

"Yeah, but if there wasn't fear, you'd do stupid things, like walk out in front of a truck," Jenny pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Jack said, seeing her point. "I never really thought of-"

He froze, his eyes wide as he stared at the open doorway.

Jenny frowned and placed the last bowl in the sink before going over to stand beside her boyfriend.

"Never thought about what?" she asked.

Jack's only response was a shaky breath.

Jenny followed his gaze to the doorway, and she, too, became petrified.

A dog- the killer dog Jack had described- was gazing at them from the doorway, slobber dripping from its open mouth. The razor sharp teeth glinted in the dim kitchen lights.

The dog barked, and the siblings ran for dear life.

Jenny covered Jack, allowing him to be the first one up the stairs and leaving herself vulnerable to the huge black dog.

Jack and Jenny skidded into the nearest room and slammed the door shut, locking it behind them.

"It's the dog, Jenny," Jack exclaimed, his voice shaking. "It's the killer dog."

"Yeah," she agreed, her voice wobbling.

The doorknob jiggled as the dog battled against the locked door to get in, and all of a sudden, it stopped. The doorknob stopped moving; the dog stopped barking. Deafening silence filled the house.

"Is it over?" Jack whimpered.

Jenny grabbed his hand. "I don't know."

"Where'd it come from?" Jack murmured, staring into Jenny's we eyes with his own terrified ones.

"Grandpa's tape recorder," Jenny realized. "Jack, that lady was talking about her fear of spider's, and then, we saw a spider."

"I thought it was a coincidence, but that dog had convinced me that it was anything but," Jack said, pointing a shaky finger at the door. "I was afraid of a dog, and then, there was a dog. But…"

He looked over Jenny's shoulder at the closet.

"That would mean…" he whispered, trailing off.

Jenny turned and started walking, agonizingly slowly, towards the closet.

"Jenny?" Jack said, sounding like a toddler that had just seen a clown at the circus. "Jenny, stop! Jenny, we need to get out of this house!"

Jenny didn't respond.

"Jenny, stop staring like that!"

"I always do," Jenny whispered, her eyes transfixed and her voice slow and almost like that of a robot.

Jack lunged forward and grabbed her hand, but it was too late. She'd already opened the closet door and moved aside the clothes.

"JENNY!"

A high pitched cackle filled the air, and scarlet fingernails reached from the depths of the closet.

Jenny screamed at the top of her lungs, and Jack dragged her towards the door. They sprinted down the stairs and raced for the door, the woman's laugh ringing in their ears.

Jack tugged on the door knob of the front door, but it didn't budge.

"The door won't open!" he cried.

"It's just like my dream. Nothing works," Jenny said, her eyes darting towards the staircase.

"I'm going to call Grandpa," Jack said in a shaky voice.

He grappled for the phone, but when he finally clamped his sweaty hand on it, it melted into an unidentifiable pool of darkness, marring the marble floor of the entrance hall.

Jack stared at it in horror.

"BARK!"

Jack yelped and whirled around to see the dog gazing back at him.

The woman cackled and descended the stairs; she was even more horrifying out of the closet as she ran her skeletal hands over her skull.

"I can't breathe," Jack gasped. "Can't breathe."

"Face your fears. That's what Grandpa always says; you need to face your fears to conquer them," Jenny stammered, gulping as she gazed at the woman.

Jack grasped Jenny's hand, and she squeezed back. For a few moments, they felt braver than they had.

"I am facing them," Jack said, breathing hard. "They're right in front of my face."

"It means face them calmly," Jenny rephrased, taking a deep breath.

The woman was pulled up the stairs by an invisible cord, her laughter fading away as she was yanked up the staircase and down the hall.

"Breathe slowly," Jenny ordered. "It works."

Jack was having a hard time doing this, and Jenny squeezed his hand.

"It's okay," she whispered. "I'm here."

Completely forgetting about the killer dog, she kissed Jack's lips, and he melted into the moment.

When they parted after a few intense seconds, the dog had vanished.

"They're gone," Jack breathed in relief.

"Nicely done."

The couple whipped around to face a tall, pale man with a long nose and beady eyes standing in the living room. He was wearing a trench coat and wide brimmed hat that hid his eyes.

"Who are you?" Jenny demanded, shoving Jack behind her.

He chuckled. "Someone who's not going away, no matter how deeply you breathe or how many kisses your sister- or is it your girlfriend?- gives you."

Jack's grip tightened on Jenny's hand as the man strolled closer.

"Where is _Dr. Hansen_?" the man asked, voice high and mocking.

"He's downstairs," Jenny lied, "and he's got a _shotgun_."

The man laughed, high pitched and breathy, impossibly far back in the throat. It was the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard.

"You are a peach," he snickered, taking off his hat and revealing a bald head with a few salt and pepper hairs near his ears. "That old man wouldn't know a shotgun from a shoebox. I suppose he's still at his retirement dinner, lapping up all the attention the fools are giving him. Oh, well, I don't need him. I only need the box of fears."

Jack huddled close to his sister, and she wrapped an arm around him.

The man smiled. "You're dating, aren't you? Haven't seen a brother and sister dating in a few years, but I've seen it in the past. You're afraid of discovery, of judgment."

Jenny and Jack gulped as the man strayed too close for their liking.

"Maybe after I get the box, I'll reveal you to the old man you call Grandpa. Just for fun. Where is the box?"

Neither replied.

"Don't play dumb, little girl," he sneered, his eyes zeroing in on Jenny. "I know you've been playing with it."

"Stay away from her!" Jack snapped.

The man actually looked surprised. "Brave boy, but… fear can make the bravest of people fall apart at the seams."

Jack wasn't sure how to reply to that.

"Give me the box before I have to do something unpleasant."

"The box of fears?" Jenny asked, the term foreign on her tongue.

"Didn't your grandpa tell you?" the man asked. "Did you really think that your grandpa got where he is because of his _skills_ and _hard work_?"

"Grandpa says hard work pays off!" Jack shouted. "Now, leave us alone before we call the cops.'

"With what phone?" the man asked, gesturing to the puddle on the floor.

 _Right_ , Jack thought. _So much for that plan._

"Your grandpa is a fraud. He's what you children would call BOGUS!" the man shouted.

The kids jumped, and Jack shoved Jenny behind him.

"Jack, no!" Jenny hissed.

"You've protected me my whole life, Jen. If we're going to die today, I'd like to return the favor," he whispered.

"That's not true!" Jack yelled.

"JACK!"

They looked over the man's shoulder and spotted their grandfather standing there; the pair ran into his arms, so close to crying, it was frightening.

"It's not true," Jack sobbed.

"It is true, Jack," Grandpa countered. "I am bogus. I take away people's fears, but I am the most fearful of all."

"Thirty-five years ago," the man said. "Wasn't that when we made our bargain?"

"That's when I received my license to practice psychiatry," Grandpa said.

"And I told you that that box would take away people's fears without any effort or skill on your part, and I would make you a successful man," the man said, drawing closer.

"I wanted to help people," Grandpa protested, "but I was-"

"Afraid?" the man interrupted.

"Yes," Grandpa admitted.

"That you would fail?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Leave my family alone!" Jack shouted.

Suddenly, a strong wind blasted him backwards, making him hit his back against the door; his head banged against it with a dull thud.

"Jack!" Jenny yelled before tackling the man.

The man was so shocked, he didn't even have time to stop her. He hit the floor with Jenny pummeling him with strength she didn't even know she had.

The man recovered and tossed her off of him.

"You really don't know who I am?" he said. "I am Fear itself, the black River of terror. I only want the box. If you give it to me, your grandpa and your little boyfriend will remain unharmed."

"Boyfriend?" Grandpa demanded. "They're siblings."

"And a couple," the man-Fear-corrected. "You didn't know? They were afraid you would judge them for their love."

He traced a finger over Jenny's jaw, and Jenny spat at him.

He chuckled before striking her across the face.

Jack was suddenly there, thrusting a kitchen knife into Fear; they'd been so distracted, they hadn't even noticed him exit the room and enter the kitchen.

Fear simply laughed, and they watched as the stab wound mended itself, the blood leaving a spot on Fear's shoulder, although no more scarlet leaked from his body.

"I cannot be hurt, boy. I am not an ordinary person. As long as there is fear, I will never die."

Jack backed up slowly, only to back into another person.

"This is interesting. Your fear had changed," Fear contemplated as Jack turned.

It was Jenny, covered in blood with wide eyes, glazed over with death.

"Your fault," she whispered.

"Jenny!" Jack sobbed.

Jenny screamed, too, and they saw that she was gazing at another Jack, dead and lying on the floor with his accusatory eyes glaring at her.

"I'll give you the box! Just stop!" Grandpa cried.

The other versions of Jack and Jenny vanished.

"That's more like it," Fear smiled. "Now."

"He can't give it to you!" Jenny suddenly said, standing up. "I hid it."

Fear opened his mouth, but Jenny cut him off.

"I'll bring it to you."

He smiled. "I'm waiting."

Jenny walked into her grandfather's office while Jack stumbled to his feet and tackled Grandpa in a hug.

"Oh, Jack, that look on your face when you saw your sister like that!" Fear said. "The pure look of fear and heartbreak!"

Jack embraced their grandfather and glared at Fear so hard, Fear was almost concerned. Almost.

Before they could continue, Jenny appeared, the box in her hands.

"The little girl returns," Fear mocked. "Give me THE BOX!"

"I can't," Jenny said.

"Do you know what I will do to you if you don't? The dog, the maniac, the other versions of you will seem like baby toys compared to what I will do to you!" Fear shouted.

"Jenny, give him the box!" Jack begged.

"Give him the box, and he'll leave!" Grandpa shouted.

"I can't!" she yelled.

"Why not?" Fear demanded.

"Because I'm afraid," Jenny admitted.

"What are you afraid of, my dear?" Fear asked.

Jenny placed the box on the table and opened it, hitting the play button. Grandpa watched her in confusion.

"I'm afraid of Fear itself. I'm afraid of YOU!" she shouted.

Fear gazed in shock as he was sucked into the box, which disappeared immediately after.

For a moment, all was silent.

Then…

"Can we do that again?" Jack laughed.

Jenny smiled and kissed her brother, passionately, completely forgetting her grandfather was there.

"So Fear was telling the truth?" their grandfather said.

The siblings turned around and gazed at their grandfather, who stared right back.

"Do you hate us?" Jack asked, timidly.

Surprisingly, Grandpa smiled.

"Of course not. You're my grandchildren, and if this is what you choose, who am I to stop you?"

The brother and sister smiled before tackling Grandpa in a hug.

"You're not going to tell our parents, are you?" Jenny asked.

"No. That's not my place. You can tell them when and _if_ you choose to."

"Thank you, Grandpa," the siblings chorused.

"No," he whispered. "Thank you."

He didn't need to elaborate. They knew what he meant.

* * *

Jack and Jenny's kiss had gone much farther that night than usual, and as they lay in Jenny's bed, exhausted, Jack asked the question he'd been dying to ask:

"Is Grandpa a bad man?"

Jenny shook her head. "No. He made a mistake. He's a good man."

Jack nodded. "Is Fear gone?"

Jenny smiled. "Yeah."

"Good," Jack murmured before drifting off to sleep.

Jenny gazed at her brother for ages before switching her gaze to the closet, listening for the cackle of Her.

She didn't get much sleep that night.

* * *

 _On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the greatest, how was it?_


End file.
